


Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology

by turtlekz



Series: Behavioural Ecology [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Africa, Anal Sex, Director Niall, Eli the Chimpanzee, M/M, Oral Sex, Photographer Harry, Primatologist Louis, Primatologist Zayn, Protector Liam, Republic of the Congo, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 15:03:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6615172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turtlekz/pseuds/turtlekz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Timestamp for 'Behavioural Ecology': Harry moves to the Republic of the Congo</p>
            </blockquote>





	Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you [Amber](http://loveloveolivia.tumblr.com/), for taking a look for me when I was stuck in a rut with it, and providing the best solutions! You're the best <3
> 
> It's just a companion piece for the main fic, I would suggest you read that first! Then come here. I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Come visit me on [Tumblr](http://turtlekz.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Or reblog this [Post :)](http://turtlekz.tumblr.com/post/143166105834/turtlekz-turtlekz-behavioural-ecology-by)

Anthropology: The study of humankind

Sociology: The study of a functioning, human society

Psychology: The study of the human mind

 

 

_One month later._

Despite Harry shutting the door to his jeep gently, Mami Watta still swayed in her hanging position off the rearview mirror. He pocketed the keys and strolled up to the building, humming the song that was just on the radio under his breath.

Someone pushed through the doors just as he reached to grip at the handle and he startled, blinking out of the haze of music streaming through his head.

“Harry!” Patrick shouted as he pushed through.

Harry smiled. “Hey Paddy.”

Patrick frowned. “It’s Patrick.”

Harry clasped a hand on his shoulder. “When you go out into the basin and fall in a pond with a bunch of _lily pads_ , you’re forever known as ‘Paddy.’”

Patrick harrumphed and begrudgingly held the door open for him.

Harry turned around with his eyebrows raised in question at the sound of Patrick calling out with excitement laced through his voice, “You got the jeep!”

Harry perked up. “Yeah, finally bought it this morning, figured I needed to get my own vehicle down here right?” He quirked his lips. “It’s _new_ , by the way.”

Patrick laughed and shook his finger at him as he said, “You’re too cheeky, Posh.”

Harry glanced at Patrick’s jeep parked beside his, the replacement for the one Louis had crashed in the rainforest was almost just as old and seemed even more rickety, if that was even possible.

Harry gave him a withered glare, causing laughter, and he darted inside the building.

He immediately heard an airy feminine giggle coming from the main desk. Gabriella sat on Niall’s lap, his arm wound tight around her waist as they both laughed at a video playing on the computer.

“Oii!” Harry called out, and they both startled, peeking up over the desk.

Harry smirked and sauntered up, leaning an arm on the counter. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” he said, eyebrow arched challengingly.

Nonplussed, Niall said, “Hiya Harry. You coming out tonight with us tonight?”

Harry shook his head. “Nah, I think we’re gunna stay in tonight," he answered.

"Booooo," Niall intoned.

Harry flicked the steel business card holder over the edge of the counter in response. Niall yelped and shot forward to catch the fluttering cards.

Harry turned to Gabriella with a smile. "Hi Gabriella, how are you?"

"Hullo Harry!" Gabriella stood up and swiped something off the counter and it set it beside Harry's hand, the clink cluing him in to what it was. "Thanks so much for the salve, it really helped. I can't believe it's taken this long to heal."

Harry grabbed the bottle and leaned forwards to see Gabriella wiggling her ankle freely.

"Hey, hey! Think you'll be able to dance soon?" he asked.

Gabriella nodded excitedly, her curls bouncing wildly. "Yeah, I'm going to the dance practice tomorrow."

Harry high-fived her, the smack echoing loudly through the atrium, "Nice! Now normally I'd say something like 'break a leg,' but that seems like the wrong thing to say in this case."

"Ha-ha," She deadpanned, and they both stared at one another before breaking into giggles.

Niall shook his head in exasperation. "Jeeze, Harry, you're the worst."

"Hey." Harry pretended to be affronted. "I'll have you know—”

"Styles! Let's go!"

Harry flinched at the echo of the shout, whipping around to see Liam waving his arm at the end of the corridor.

"Well that's my cue," Harry said. "Have fun tonight, I'll see you tomorrow, Niall. Gabriella, good luck." He squeezed her hand briefly and jogged down the hall to Liam for his ride over to Bebe.

Harry unlocked the main room with his pass, stepping inside to see Zayn fussing over his hair in the small mirror hooked on the wall.

Liam smiled fondly and walked up to the man, pressing a kiss to his cheek and grabbing the bottle of hair gel on the counter.

"You're getting quite dressed up for this," he commented.

Zayn looked at him briefly before he replied, "I usually smell like a chimpanzee, any chance I have to get out of these clothes, I'm taking. Now shush and let me finish." He pushed Liam away gently with a small smile on his face.

They squabbled as Harry walked out of the room and sought out Louis in his bedroom.

He knocked a pattern out on the door with his knuckles and heard muffled laughter from within, then a series of knocks vibrated in reply. The door pulled open and Harry nearly tumbled inside in his eagerness.

He wrapped his body around Louis, slouching over to accommodate for the height. Louis laughed and buried his face into Harry's neck, his arms tightening around Harry's torso.

"A baby koala," he rasped out.

Harry hummed into Louis' neck and inhaled deeply, dropping his knapsack onto the floor and closing his eyes. The stress from the week finally released from his body with the comfort of something familiar.

Louis laughed again at Harry's unwillingness to let go. "Rough week at the office I take it?"

"You don't even _know,_ " Harry replied, finally letting go of Louis and walking further into the room. He flopped dramatically backwards onto the bed, moaning in relief and twitching at the pull of his muscles in his back. Sitting at his desk staring at a computer all day had made his eyeballs go cross eyed and his lower back ache from the stiff position. He wasn’t used to it, and hoped that once things settled down, he could go out and actually _do_ things in the community.

Louis laughed softly and knelt down at the foot of the bed, tugging Harry's shoes off reverently and digging his thumb into the soles of Harry's foot.

Harry jerked slightly and moaned loudly. "Lou," he said roughly. "If you don't stop, we won't leave the room, and we have things to do."

"Like what?" Louis asked, switching feet and digging harder, causing Harry's toes to curl and a jolt of arousal to swoop through his abdomen. _Fuck_ , but he had forgotten all about his affinity for having his feet rubbed and the associated heady arousal that came with having the muscle deeply massaged. It was like a direct line to his cock.

“Like”—he stuttered—“preparing for your mum's visit tomorr— _OH!_ " He pulled his leg away from Louis' tempting hands, bending both knees to rest his feet flat on the bed spread and breathing heavily. It felt _too_ good. He took a gulp of air and lifted his head to peer down his torso at Louis who was biting his lip and smirking slightly, his hands now motionless but loosely holding onto Harry’s foot. Harry looked at the delicate wrists and his breath hitched when Louis squeezed teasingly, a knowing glint in his eyes. He waited, holding his breath as a thumb brushed over his sole in a gentle tickle, and Harry’s lips parted in anticipation.

Louis released his foot instead, _fucking tease,_ and pushed himself up, inquiring, "What on earth do we need to prepare for?" as he placed a hand on each of Harry's knees and pulled them apart to crawl through the spread legs.

"Like, we should set up their rooms for them—oof.” The air whooshed out of him when Louis cut him off by flopping his body on top of his and slotting their lips together.

Harry's hands automatically went to Louis waist with total intention to push him off, but.

Louis licked into the seam of his lips and he groaned, parting their mouths and kissing back thoroughly.

Harry finally broke through the Louis haze and said, "We need to prepare an itinerary for them—"

"An itinerary?" Louis interrupted, pulling his head back. "Why the fuck do we need an itinerary? It's just me mum and sisters, and not even all my sisters. They're not the Queen of England," he said in a laugh.

Louis bent down to reconnect their lips, stopping just before he touched them and whispering, "First, I want a proper snogging session, wet and puffy lips, mussed up hair, teenage frottage, the whole bit."

And well. Harry's body went lax like a cut puppet’s strings. He was only human after all, who was he to deny an attractive man currently astride his lap?

Harry scratched at his head again, tapping open the event list on Dominique's website on the IPad. The women were putting on a show and Harry had jotted it down as something to do with Louis' family at some point during their visit, but he hadn't written down the date. He knew it was sometime next week. Just couldn't remember when.

Now, he couldn't find it on the blasted website. The skin on his neck was irritated, heated from Louis’ beard burn, and he pressed against the fresh bruise at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. He made a noise of frustration and threw the pencil down on the desk.

Laughter bubbled out of Louis from behind him and Harry whirled his chair around with a manic expression on his face.

“Louis, I can’t believe I’m meeting your entire family tomorrow, and you think this is funny!” Harry squeaked, hauling himself forward to roll his chair while simultaneously reaching out to grab at Louis’ arm.

Louis just laughed and rolled out of the way, leaping up out of his chair and disappearing through the door. Harry reluctantly followed, grumbling nonsensically under his breath.

Louis spoke loudly over his mumbling, “ _Harold_ ,” he stressed, “it was bound to happen at some point, m’family’s always visited at least once a year. Just happened to be the timing, they've had their tickets for months now. You really don't need to make it a big deal.”

Harry huffed. “Yeah but like”—he waved his hand—“I need to make a good impression, how much do they know about me?”

Louis turned around and looked at Harry, his brows furrowing.

“Harry, of course they know all about you. We’re dating. I tell my mother everything,” he said, cocking his head. His eyebrows raised and his eyes widened as he absentmindedly added, “Well almost everything.”

“We’ve only been dating for a month now, and we had such an unconventional start,” Harry stated. Then, “What if she hates me,” he whispered, horrified, stopping in his tracks.

Louis blinked, surprised, then said, “What? She’s not going to hate you.”

Harry made a noise. “You don’t know that,” he insisted.

Louis squinted his eyes and considered. “Babe, why are you so nervous?”

Harry warmed at the nickname. “Let’s go on a date,” he said. "After the visit. We haven't had a proper date yet."

Louis blinked at the sudden topic change, then rubbed a hand over the scruff on his jaw. He remained silent, staring impassively at Harry.

Harry tried not to fidget under the heavy stare. He sat down abruptly when he saw little Joe walking over to him. He plucked some of the grass and stretched it between his fingers, taking deep breath and letting it out in a gust.

Louis carefully sat down beside him, the heat of his body pressed up directly against Harry's side, and Louis nudged his shoulder. “Hmmm? What’s up?”

Joe crawled into Harry’s lap and cooed softly at him. Harry brushed a hand down Joe’s spine, patting the top of his head with the other.

Harry ignored Louis and glanced around the enclosure for Elsie. With Joe, one almost always found Elsie lurking nearby.

Louis sighed and let it go, shifting the topic again, "Tell me about your week, why was it stressful?"

"Who knew that starting an affiliation with JGI and the African Wildlife Foundation _and National Geographic_ , would be so stressful?" Harry bemoaned.

Louis chuckled. "That tends to happen, Harold. Wanting to do something good usually takes while to gain momentum," he said.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I mean. I'm excited, it's just a lot of paperwork right now, I wanna get to the actual _doing_ part. The whole upheaval of the last month's been crazy.”

Louis bobbed his head and Harry held his breath as he watched Elsie stroll up to them, parking herself beside Harry. He let out his breath slowly, watching as she laid down on the ground.

Louis continued the conversation, ”I’m selfishly glad that you were only gone for like a week after you came back and surprised me."

Harry smiled. "Me too. I mean, I really only had to pack up my stuff, and finding an apartment was easy enough. But it's been non stop, go, go, go with everything else since." Harry sighed.

Joe hadn’t moved in a while, so Harry ceased his rubbing and looked down at chimp and saw that his eyes were closed with a hand curled near his face. He'd fallen asleep.

Harry's lips quirked and he brushed a gentle hand down the side of Joe's face.

“You should tell me why you’re nervous about meeting my mum,” Louis said.

“I don’t know,” he burst out. “Something about it just gives me a ton of anxiety.”

Harry inhaled deeply and rubbed at his chest. The phantom tension making him feel coiled and tight, the more he thought about the impending visit, the faster his heartbeat fluttered.

Louis tilted his head. “Alright, you’re sure there’s no lingering reason?” he asked.

Harry looked at him quickly. “No, I swear, I just. I’ve no clue. Maybe it’s just because I’ve never met my boyfriend’s parents before?”

Louis’ eyebrows raised. “Really?” he asked. “I’m surprised. I would’ve thought that parents loved you.”

“They do,” Harry said.

Louis scoffed and said, “Now with _that_ attitude, I’m surprised they do.”

Harry laughed and Elsie shifted in annoyance. He looked down to see that her hands were tucked underneath her cheek, her body facing Harry in her curled up position beside him. Her lips were parted, and small puffs of air escaped them in her snoring. He smiled at the innocent picture Elsie made.

He gazed out into the thick branches of the trees, the setting sun casting a pink glow upon the leaves that swayed gently in the breeze.

Most of the chimpanzees were mulling about in the yard, and Harry spotted Eli in the corner playing with the tetherball. He tore his gaze away and looked at Louis.

"I think it's just the combination of the stress from the work, the move, the upheaval, nothing firmly settling into place yet, and then _boom_ , I'm meeting my boyfriend's mum. Ya know?"

"I gotcha. Thank you for telling me," Louis said as he reached a hand out to touch Harry's shoulder.

"'Course," Harry replied, then added in a whisper, "I think…I may also be slightly worried she's going to think I'm another Chris."

Louis startled, his hand squeezing Harry's shoulder insistently. "Hey. Harry, would you look at me?"

Harry complied, chewing on his lip.

Louis withdrew the lip from the biting teeth, rubbing a thumb over the wetness. "She never knew about Chris."

Harry blinked, then pressed a kiss into Louis' palm on the hand that lingered. He remained silent.

Louis continued, "She only knew that Chris betrayed the facility, and that we had been good friends. Nothing more."

"Ohh," Harry breathed, relief flooding through him. _Thank god._

The men fell silent and Harry kicked off his shoes, poking Louis in the shin with a toe and giving him a small smile. He leaned backwards onto the grass, holding onto Joe as he shifted into position. Joe made a small noise at the disturbance, but settled more comfortably onto his stomach. Harry reached a hand out to rest it on Louis' leg, drawing circles with his thumb into the thigh.

Harry closed his eyes and let his surroundings fade away in the relaxing atmosphere, shivering at the light breeze that wafted over him.

Some time passed before he reopened his eyes again to the sound of the door opening and closing. He shifted his head to watch Liam and Zayn approach.

The rustle of their approach only bothered Elsie slightly, so Harry rubbed a hand down her back soothingly.

"I can't believe you've finally gotten Elsie to relax," Zayn said as he approached, folding his arms across his chest.

Louis tipped his head back and peered up at him. "Maybe she was just sick of seeing your face constantly."

Harry chuckled. "I honestly don't know what I've done that's made me approachable to her," he said.

Louis considered. "It could be just your constant routine. That's what Jane initially did all those years ago. She sat in the same spot, same time of day, every day, for two years, before the chimps in the wild finally accepted her." He shrugged.

"But I've definitely not been around for _two years_. You guys have been around her longer, no? I've just been here usually every Friday evening,” Harry said.

"I dunno, I mean, Louis Leakley told Jane that she had the perfect temperament to go try and sit out there with the wild chimps, so she tried it and it worked. It's the same when animals just take to certain people sometimes. They have good instinct when it comes to trusting humans."

"Plus, these aren't wild chimps."

“She was nervous of you in the beginning yeah? But you’ve done nothing to her that would make her think you’re a threat,” Zayn added.

“Harry? A threat?” Liam scoffed. “He’s about as scary as a baby panda.”

“Hey, I can be scary,” Harry insisted.

The men in the clearing just stared at him. Harry mock growled at Louis, baring his teeth, leaning into his space and snapping his teeth near his throat.

Louis laughed and shoved his hand on Harry’s face, pushing him away. Harry mouthed at the fingers and playfully tried to bite them.

 _“Gross!”_ Louis yelped, wiping his fingers on Harry’s sleeve.

The commotion woke the chimps up, and they grumpily moved away from the men, Elsie seemed to glare at Harry as she helped Joe climb onto her back.

Harry cooed at Elsie in an apology, trying to get her attention to rejoin them, but she ignored him and walked away. “Whoopsie.”

Louis shrugged. “She may only like you second best now.” He winked at him, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Hey." Harry pouted, eying Louis' lips and subconsciously licking his own, his head gravitating closer to close the distance.

The sound of a hand slapping against skin distracted him and he looked to see Liam gripping one of Zayn’s hands.

“Stop fussing, your hair looks fi—”

Zayn’s raised hand paused midair and he stared owlishly up at Liam before raising his eyebrow at him.

“ _—good_ ,” Liam corrected, smiling sheepishly. He rested his hands on Zayn’s shoulders and squeezed briefly, then ran his hands up and down his biceps. “C’mon, we’d better get over to the mainland while we still have light.” His hand drifted down and clasped into Zayn’s, tugging him gently away.

"Have fun tonight boys! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Louis called out.

"That would be everything!" Zayn yelled out, flapping his hand above his head.

Harry laughed. "You're sure you don't want to join them? Make it a triple date?" he asked.

Louis mock frowned. "Nah, rather spend it with you, have a chill night. We don't get to see each other much."

Harry laughed. "We spend all our weekends together!" he exclaimed. "I'm surprised no one's come to kick me out yet."

"Hey," Louis pouted. "You saying you'd rather not be here?"

Harry shook his head. "Not what I'm saying at all, just making sure you're not sick of me yet."

"Well I'm not," Louis said.

"Good," Harry replied, staring directly at him. "Cus I'm probably able to come down a weeknight as well now that I finally bought the jeep."

"Really?" Louis' eyes brightened, then his expression turned horrified. "God, I feel clingy. Fuck. I'd forgotten what a new relationship was like."

Harry’s chest swelled with happiness and he smiled, tipping over to rest his head in Louis' lap. "I like it," he murmured.

"Course you do, you're possessive," Louis stated.

“Says the one marking me up,” Harry said, pointing at his neck. “Also ‘possessive’ sounds like such a terrible world.”

Louis pushed a finger into the bruise, and Harry gasped at the zing that went through his neck directly to his groin.

“Nah, I wouldn't worry about it," he said. "Makes me feel wanted," he growled out, leaning down to peck Harry on the lips once, twice, almost thrice—

But Eli's head suddenly bopped Louis', and he pulled back laughing.

Harry's vision was blocked by black fur as the chimp leaned over him into Louis' chest.

Harry laughed and raised his hands up to block the attack of the fur, carding his fingers through the coarse hair and rubbing Eli's tummy.

Eli squawked and jerked out of his sight as if not realizing there was another person already in Louis' lap.

Eli poked Harry and he laughed, sitting up and capturing the chimp around the waist and tickling his sides, making him squeal. Eli squirmed out of Harry's hold and flopped down onto his back, kicking his legs into the air and screeching loudly.

Harry laughed and rubbed a palm over Eli’s hairy belly, bending over and cooing down at him.

Louis suddenly launched himself onto Harry's back and threw his arms around his neck, his hands coming down to attack Eli.

Eli leapt up and screeched loudly, running away from the two of them, then back at them with his jaw wide open in excitement, throwing himself at Harry's front in an attempt to get at Louis. Harry warded him off with an outstretched hand and Eli ran around them in a circle.

Harry laughed and wrapped his arms around Louis' legs to pull them more securely around his waist.

"Woah!" Louis' legs suddenly tightened and his upper body was yanked backwards off of Harry's back. Harry nearly fell over, but pulled himself forwards to set Louis upright again, his brows furrowing at the heavier weight added.

He placed his hands on the ground and crawled to turn around, seeing nothing behind him.

"What the fuck happened?"

Louis laughed and suddenly another chimp's hand flashed in front of his face.

"Joe jumped onto my back!" Louis laughed again, his body wiggling around and threatening to make Harry drop the two of them.

Eli eyed the top above Harry's head and made a movement forward.

Harry held up a pointed finger. "No."

He shook the finger at Eli's tentative step forward. Harry could see him planning something devious behind those not-so-innocent eyes.

Louis jerked again, and Harry's attention was divided between Eli circling him and trying to hold onto Louis' squirming body.

"Lou, wrap your legs tight around me."

Harry nearly coughed a second laughter when Louis complied and Harry's waist was squeezed within an inch of its life. He released Louis’ legs and held out his hands towards Eli as a barrier.

"Eli, don't even think about it," he tried to say sternly. But the slowly spreading grin on his face took away some of the effect, and Eli knew it.

Eli opened his jaw wide and screeched loudly, advancing forward a couple more steps.

Harry shifted his weight, his knees beginning to bother him and he winced at the bone rolling against the hard ground.

A violent jerk from Louis finally tipped them over and he yelped as they went sprawling backwards to the ground. Eli took his chance, leaping on Harry's chest and making Louis grunt with the added weight.

Louis laughed and groaned as he tried to push both Harry and Eli off.

"Hairy armpits huh? I'll show you hairy armpits." Harry dug his fingers into Eli's armpits and mercilessly tickled the chimp to the point of high pitched squealing and violent squirming out of his grip.

Harry laughed and dove forward, catching Eli round the waist into a bear hug and effectively trapping him in an attempt to calm the chimp down.

Eli's excitement eventually relaxed and he looked behind him to see that Louis had lost against Joe, and was now sat cross legged on the ground with Joe securely wrapped around his shoulders, a hand palming through Louis' fringe and mussing it up.

Eli took advantage of his distraction and suddenly burst free from his hold, pushing Harry over on his back and jumping onto his stomach to bounce up and down.

”Oh shit," he wheezed, promptly giving up and flopping down. He craned his head, seeking out Louis.

"Did we just lose to two smaller chimps?" he asked.

Louis huffed a laugh. "Yep, we did. Chimpanzees are the champions of play wrestling."

Harry's abs were beginning to hurt with the continual contracting of his stomach muscles to withstand Eli's energetic bouncing and he groaned loudly, trying to buck Eli off.

Eli jerked at the sound and suddenly ceased all movement, sitting down on his chest and cooing at him, trailing a finger down the side of Harry's face.

"He thinks he's hurt you."

Harry' tilted his head towards the sound of Louis' voice, but then back to Eli as he held a hand up in offering, and Eli stroked his palm tenderly with the rough pads of his fingertips.

"Why are chimps so cool," he whispered.

Louis crawled closer to Harry, gently laying down on his stomach so Joe wouldn't tumble off. Harry turned his head to face Louis, who was upside down, his cheek pressed into the grass and lips only a couple centimetres away from his own.

Louis inched forward and pecked him in a brief spiderman kiss, and Harry sighed contentedly when they parted. The two chimps settled more comfortably on their respective human's bodies, while Harry and Louis just gazed stupidly at one another, trading kisses as the sun set behind the curtain of trees and turned the island dark.

“I like our ritual,” Harry murmured, nuzzling into the Louis’ neck and inhaling deeply.

Louis hummed, “Me too.” He shifted his position slightly, his arse brushing against Harry’s groin teasingly.

Harry groaned lowly, squeezing his arms tighter around Louis’ waist and nosing into the crease of Louis' neck. "Work throughout the week, spending our weekends together." He lifted his head. "If you ever get sick of spending all your time here, I can come pick you up and you can spend it at my place in town," he offered.

"But then the chimps will miss you," Louis said, mirth lurking in his eyes.

Harry rolled his, "I don't think they know me _that_ well yet."

“Sure they do, you have an unforgettable face,” Louis said, smiling.

“D’aww, look at you, dishing out compliments.” Harry pecked him on the nose.

Louis wiggled around on the bed, shifting his leg in-between Harry’s and nudging his knuckles into Harry’s abdomen. “Now where’s mine?” he asked.

Harry barked a laugh. “That’s not how this works.”

Louis batted his eyelashes at him, “Whaddya mean?”

He was so pretty. How did anyone ever resist him?

Harry tried to purse his lips, then said, “Compliments should be given without the expectation of reciprocation, Louis. Everyone knows that.” He paused, then finally gave in at the expectant look from Louis. “Well you’re certainly cheeky.” He smacked his lips onto Louis’ left cheek, while simultaneously reaching a hand down and squeezing his arse.

Louis’ eyes went wide and he sputtered, “Excuse you! What makes you think you’re entitled to that?” He squirmed closer to Harry, pressing the length of his body against Harry’s front and contrasting his statement.

“You’re…eye-catching,” Harry continued, pressing a kiss into each of Louis’ eyelids, which fluttered closed and a pained groan emanated from Louis.

"That was cheesy," he mumbled, eyes still closed.

"You're cheesy," Harry muttered into Louis' neck, dragging his lips down and pulling the t-shirt to the side to expose more collarbone.

Harry traced his hands up Louis' sides, dragging the t-shirt up, Louis lazily helping him pull it off.

Harry pressed a kiss above his nipple, muttering, "You have a good heart," into the smooth skin.

Louis' abdomen rippled with a shaky breath. "Sap," he rasped out.

Harry bit down on the nipple in retaliation and Louis gasped, his hand cradling Harry’s head, then pushing slightly on it. “Sensitive,” he whispered. Yes, Harry knew that. Had been delighted to discover that, in fact.

Harry rolled on top of Louis, switching nipples and laving his tongue insistently over the other one while his hands roamed the flat panes of Louis’ torso.

Louis shuddered a shaky exhalation into his hair as he drifted further down Louis' body.

He bypassed Louis' groin, save for pressing a kiss into the trail of hair that lead downwards. He revealed Louis’ half-hard cock as he dragged Louis' pants down with him.

Louis lifted his bum half-heartedly, the muscles clenching in effort and Harry bit his lip at the sight of the smooth, lean muscles of his thighs, wanting nothing more than to see those muscles in action, whether it be from running or perhaps wrapped around his hea— “Hey.”

Louis' hand had slipped down his stomach to graze lightly over his cock and the hair that surrounded it, breath hitching at the tease, and making a move to wrap his fingers around his cock.

Harry caught his hand and pulled it to trap underneath his bum.

“None of that.”

Louis made a noise of protest but complied, eyes slipping shut and legs twitching at Harry's large hands running over them gently.

Harry shuffled further down and pressed a trail of kisses into Louis’ meaty thigh, up towards the crease of where groin met leg. He bit down sharply, making Louis gasp and jerk his leg upwards. Harry caught his ankle with a firm grip and continued sucking a mark into the skin.

"Fuck, Harry," Louis whispered shakily, muscles rippling in his abdomen as he tried to stretch away from the wet mouth.

Harry gripped tighter with his hand and trailed his mouth towards the inside of Louis' thigh, lips creating marks wherever they fell. He could just smell the slightly musky scent of man, of _Louis,_ and his head began to swim with arousal. _God._

Louis was practically vibrating by the time he finished, a flush high upon his chest, his head tipped back and exposing the taunt muscles in his neck. Harry rose upwards and inspected the line of bruises, pressing a finger into the largest one with his free hand.

Louis tried to jerk his ankle free from Harry's grip, but Harry simply maneuvered him so that his leg was bent upwards, his foot near Harry's head. He pressed a delicate kiss into the ankle bone.

“Cute ankles…but with that comes the price of an Achilles heel,” he said, nipping at the aforementioned area.

"Weakness...what weakness?" Louis panted.

"Your good heart that I mentioned," Harry murmured, rubbing his palm over Louis’ pectoral and the hardened nipple. He let go of the ankle with his other hand and fit himself between the open V of Louis' legs, pressing his still fully clothed body on top of Louis' now sensitive one.

Louis gasped and rutted upwards, chasing friction against Harry's hard cock.

He continued, "Don't let anyone else take advantage of you anymore, yeah? I don't think I could stand to see you upset." He pressed a kiss against the side of Louis' neck while grinding downwards against Louis.

Louis' hands trailed underneath his t-shirt and up along his back. "What? Like the way you're taking advantage of me now?"

Harry stilled, raising his head up to stare at Louis, who had a hint of a smirk on his face.

"That's not funny," he remarked.

Louis wrapped his legs around Harry's waist, "I'm just joking. But you are taking advantage of me. You're still wearing clothes and I'm as naked as the day I was born."

"Hmmmm," Harry hummed, ignoring Louis and connecting their lips. He kissed him, tongue licking along the seam for access to which Louis parted willingly, the kiss deepening into wet and slick sounds which echoed into the quiet of the room.

Louis broke the kiss to tug off Harry's shirt. "Woo—oh!" Harry jerked, his eyes widening when Louis shoved his hand down the back of Harry's pants underneath the briefs. Louis squeezed his arse, trying to push Harry's pants down with his other hand and Harry giggled.

He got fed up when one hand wasn't enough and made a noise of frustration, latching onto Harry's exposed, peaked nipple instead.

Harry gasped and jerked further into the warm, wet mouth. He haphazardly tried to shove his pants down while keeping Louis' mouth attached, getting as far as pulling them underneath the swell of his bum and kicking a leg out distractedly.

Louis huffed a laugh onto Harry's nipple, the wet bud hardening further at the cool breath and Harry moaned.

He pushed himself off Louis and slid out of his pants, Louis' hand immediately reaching for his hard cock the second it slapped against his abdomen.

Harry moaned again and fell back down on top of Louis, trapping his hand between them and kissing him.

His hands pressed into the pillow beside Louis' head, their cocks sliding together as he rutted downwards, and he separated their lips to gaze down at Louis' flushed face and tousled hair. He looked devastatingly debauched already and they’d barely started. He panted heavily, _shit,_ Harry was so unbelievably attracted to him.

"Grab, lube," Louis panted into Harry's mouth, connecting their lips again as he squeezed Harry's arse and pushed his groin further upwards, creating a steady friction.

"Wait."

Louis groaned, "What for?"

He wanted further debauchery. "Wanna suck you a bit," Harry whispered into Louis' mouth. He pulled back slightly but Louis chased him, searing their lips together and pulling Harry down again.

Harry shuddered at the motion, arousal swooping through him at Louis' urgency. He grinded forwards a few times, mimicking the motion as if thrusting inside of Louis, and they both moaned.

Harry detached regretfully, leaning up and pinning Louis' wrists beside his head into the pillow and exposing the sensitive flesh of his inner biceps. Harry latched his mouth to the smooth, tender skin, biting, sucking and nibbling the area.

He continued grinding down against Louis, precome blurting from the tip of his cock smearing between them and easing into a smooth glide.

Louis' arm trembled underneath his mouth, bruises marring the tanned skin, wet from his mouth. He moved his mouth to the shell of Louis' ear and panted, "Is this possessive enough for you?"

Louis jerked his head, goosebumps erupting on his neck and Harry pressed his face into the crease, breathing hotly into the skin.

He finally tore himself from Louis' embrace and shuffled down to rest his torso on the bed in between Louis' legs.

He peered up at Louis through the V of his legs, his mouth close to Louis' hard cock. Louis had lifted his head to stare at him, his mouth parted in anticipation. Harry waited, then opened his mouth and breathed directly over the head.

Louis groaned and threw his head back. When his cock wasn't enveloped into wet heat, he pulled himself up expectantly, his brows pulled into a question.

“W—what,”

Harry fit his hands around Louis' thighs and pulled them further apart, rubbing circles into the skin with his thumbs and waiting patiently, despite the throbbing of his cock. He pressed a kiss into the crease where thigh met groin, ignoring the pretty pink head in front of him. He wanted Louis eager, desperate, then Harry would only be happy to comply, give this beautiful man anything he wanted—

"Harry, c'mon."

Harry dragged his tongue over his lip while maintaining eye contact, then said, "What do you want?"

Louis groaned, his eyes slipping shut. "You know what I want."

Harry rubbed his thumb over the slit, making Louis jerk his cock further into the palm of Harry's hand. He held Louis’ cock in a lose grip, thumb brushing repeatedly back and forth.

"Suck me, please," Louis panted, his head tipped back, thighs shaking slightly in their bent position.

“I dunno,” Harry teased, “would you rather be complimented again?”

Louis made a noise of frustration and nudged at Harry’s head with his knee.

Harry huffed a laugh and gripped the base of Louis’ cock, licking a stripe along the underside.

Louis sucked in a breath, hips twitching upwards, seeking the wet heat. Harry complied, wrapping his lips around the head and sucking. He bobbed his head down, curls brushing along Louis’ thighs in a tickle.

He sucked noisily, slick sounds escaping the corners of his lips. He hollowed his cheeks, creating hot suction, before suddenly bobbing faster.

Louis’ legs automatically clenched at the sensation, tightening around Harry’s head. Harry made a noise and spread them back apart with his hands, squeezing Louis’ inner thighs briefly before scraping his nails lightly over the skin. Louis inhaled a sharp breath, the hair on his legs raising in reaction.

Harry rutted down against the bed, seeking sweet friction, groaning at the slight relief it brought him, his cock hard and aching between his thighs.

“Oh,” Louis gasped on a particularly harsh suck. “Harry,” he panted.

“Hmmm?” Harry hummed around Louis’ cock, sucking harder while reaching a hand up to massage his balls, the other palming at Louis’ tummy, fingers drifting to the coarse hair at the base of his cock.

The head of Louis’ cock bumped the back of Harry’s throat, and Louis thrusted upwards in reaction, head turning to the side to gasp into the pillow. Harry gurgled a little at the sensation, but simply pushed Louis back down into the bed with a firm hand.

Harry felt a droplet of sweat trickle down the back of his neck as he bobbed faster, watching Louis’ face through the curtain of his hair.

“Oh, Harry,” Louis panted, voice trailing off into a moan, head tilted back and eyes squeezed shut.

Harry pulled off, jerking his cock and murmuring, “You have a lovely cock.”

“Hmmmm, _fuck_ ,” Louis said quickly, “I know that.”

Harry laughed delightedly. “Do you?” He breathed over the wet, shiny head.

“Hnng,” was all Harry heard before he sunk back down and sucked hard, his hand jerking the area not enveloped in heat.

Louis’ abdomen clenched, cock twitching in Harry’s mouth and he sucked vigorously, waiting for the tell tale twitch, when—

"No, no, no, no, _wait,_ " Louis gasped, tugging at Harry’s curls.

Harry pulled off abruptly at the plea, Louis' cock twitching violently, the wet head hitting Harry’s cheek and leaving a smear of pre-come.

"Ah shit, that was way too close," Louis panted.

'Why don't you want to come?" Harry trailed a finger lightly over a raised vein through the spit. Louis' hips bucked away at the sensation

"Because I want you to fuck me," he groaned. His hips twitched restlessly on the bed and he tacked on, "Please."

Surprised, Harry’s breath caught in his throat as heat licked his spine.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah," Louis panted out, "I want you to, I trust you. Of course I trust you."

Pleasure flooded through Harry at the words. "Louis," he said gruffly, his throat constricting with emotion. Give this man anything, absolutely. He kissed him much too roughly, excited at the prospect of Louis giving him permission to be inside him. Which meant more than words could divulge, so he tried to slow this kiss down to something tender, to show his appreciation, but the thrilled feeling of Louis' words coursing through him spurned him on.

Luckily Louis kissed him back just as hard, wrapping his arms around Harry's torso and splaying his hands across Harry's broad back to push him closer.

Harry broke the kiss and reached to the table, fiddling around in the drawer for their stash of lube and condoms.

He rolled a condom onto his hard cock, then coated his fingers with lube and brought them to Louis' hole, pink and puckered, it winked at him in anticipation.

He sucked Louis' cock down just as he pushed gently with his finger.

Louis gasped, writhing on the sheets as Harry began bobbing his head, tongue gliding along the underside of Louis' cock. He pulled off till just the tip was left in his mouth, sucking greedily on the head before swallowing down to nearly the root, coarse hair tickling his lips.

His finger pushed in to the hilt of his ring, and he twisted, pushing and stretching Louis' rim. He pumped slowly while sucking on Louis' cock, wet noises emerging from both his mouth and his finger sliding into the wet hole.

"Ahh, Harry." A hand carded through the crown of Harry's head. "Add another."

Harry complied before Louis even finished speaking, the lube making an easy glide. He pumped his fingers faster, urged by Louis' hand tightening in his hair and he moaned at the sensation on his scalp.

He suckled just on the head for a minute, flitting his tongue along the slit and savoring the salty taste of precome as he added a third finger. Louis was shuddering on the bed now, eying Harry's mouth and absentmindedly licking his lips.

Harry popped off Louis' cock, withdrawing his fingers gently and surging up to kiss Louis, mouth open and insistent. He pressed his body against Louis', grinding downwards, torsos pressed together and hips undulating forwards, mimicking the action of thrusting.

"C'mon, Harry," Louis panted in his mouth, lips pulling back in a tease.

"Alright," Harry breathed out. "One sec." He made a move to push back Louis’ legs, but a hand on his chest stopped him.

“Wait,” he said.

Harry frowned, hands pausing on Louis’ legs. “Wha’s?” he mumbled.

Louis shoved at his chest, rising up and saying directly against his mouth, “Can I ride you?”

Harry's head went fuzzy with arousal. "Well I'm not going to say no to that."

Louis maneuvered them, reaching for the lube and rubbing gel onto his cock before pushing Harry flat and straddling him, wiggling his arse around. Harry’s cock split Louis' bum cheeks apart, and he moaned gruffly, “Lou.”

Louis lifted himself up, torso twisting around to watch as he guided the head to his hole. “Yeah?”

Harry lost his words as Louis began sinking down on his cock. He watched Louis' expression for any signs of discomfort as Louis' rim was breached. Louis sunk down slowly, enveloping him inch by inch into tight heat. His hands gripped tighter on Louis' waist at the sensation. Warm, tight, _perfect._

He threw his head back as Louis sunk all the way down, arse cheeks resting on the tops of his thighs. Louis placed his hands on Harry's chest and gently rose up, then back down, rolling his hips as he went.

"Did you know," he started as he bounced on Harry's cock, "that another species of chimpanzees, bonobos, or _pan paniscus_ , are," he cut off with a moan and a squeeze of his arse against Harry's cock. "Some of the most sexual beings besides humans? They resolve conflicts through sex," he said airily.

Harry groaned as the harsh consonant resonated in his ears. "Lou," he muttered. Of course Louis would think now was a good time to bring up something like this.

Louis ignored him, brushing his thumbs back and forth over Harry's nipples. He rose up till just the head remained inside him. Then down only an inch.

"They're bisexual." He rose back up. "Have orgies." Down. "They kiss one another." Back up. "Have casual sex, and are arguably one of the more peaceful groups of primates." He held himself up in place, clenching rhythmically on the head of Harry's cock.

Harry's body felt like a live wire, overheated, the need to thrust upwards and bury himself inside of Louis strong. Only Louis would be able to bring up the topic of primates casually in the middle of fucking and get away with it.

"You're gunna make me have a reaction the next time I see them mating." Harry ground out. "It'll be pavlonian."

Louis breathed a laugh. "Wouldn't that be something?" He sunk down slowly to the hilt, rolling his hips and moaning, his head tipping back, and eyes slipping shut.

Harry licked the perspiration off his lips. "So wait. You're saying all of our future arguments should just be solved by having sex?"

Louis' eyes flashed open. "You think we'll have a lot of arguments?" He lifted up and slammed down hard on Harry's cock.

Harry moaned, his hands gripping tighter on Louis' waist.

“Dunno, might just start one if it’ll end in sex,” he said. He licked his lips as he watched Louis, his mouth open in a soft pant.

"What if I withhold sex?" Louis asked, hands clenched into fists on Harry's abdomen as he began furiously riding Harry for a few glorious seconds, then stilling, raising on his knees till just the head of Harry's cock was inside him.

Harry's hips jolted upwards off the bed, involuntarily chasing Louis' arse, but Louis pressed him back down with a hard push.

"What if I withhold sex?" Louis repeated, an eyebrow arching, the slight heaving of his chest the only indication that holding his still position was torturous for him.

Harry groaned, losing a bit of control and snapping his hips off the bed a few times, thighs slapping against Louis' arse. Louis faltered on a gasp, and Harry's hands clenched Louis' waist, then suddenly flipped him around, his cock slipping from Louis' hole.

Louis' back hit the sheets, his hands automatically coming around Harry's torso as Harry shifted their positions to line up at Louis' entrance. His arms bracketed Louis' head and he kissed him lightly, a mere brush of lips.

"Then I'd tease you. Mercilessly," he said, pushing back in slowly, ever so slowly. "Pet your cock through your pants in public," he whispered, his words accentuated with the slow withdrawal of his cock, the pump back in, slow, and dragging. “Suck on phallic shaped objects.”

Louis sucked in a breath. "C'mon," he whispered into the skin underneath Harry's chin, pressing a gentle kiss, then nipping on it with sharp teeth.

Harry gasped and shuddered forward a few more inches, moving his neck away, but Louis followed with a harder bite.

Louis' legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him in to the hilt so that his balls slapped gently against Louis' arse. He shivered at the sensation and reigned himself in against his body's desire, pulling back and pumping forward, in slow, deep thrusts that caused Louis to slide up the bed.

In and out, he pumped his hips slowly, his abdomen contracting at the motion. He wanted it to be good for Louis, be in control, not erratic for his first time inside Louis. He was holding himself steadily above Louis, but Louis' heel dug into the small of his back and Harry wasn't sure he could hold out much longer with the slow pace.

Louis' hands came around his back and encouraged him to go harder with an insistent press. Harry fell into him gratefully, kissing him roughly and thrusting forcefully. Louis welcomed him eagerly, pushing his hips upwards to meet his thrusts.

"God," Harry panted into Louis' neck, "you're so lovely." He brushed a thumb over Louis' hard nipple, his hips moving wildly now, skin slapping against skin, the baby fine hair at the back of his neck prickling at the sound echoing into the room. Louis' fringe stuck to his forehead and Harry's curls swung across his shoulders, tickling Louis.

Harry looked at Louis, his lip was caught between his teeth, an expression of bliss graced his features and Harry thought that he'd never been more attracted to someone before. Never been so determined to see someone in the throes of passion. So he brought one of Louis' legs up, changing the angle of thrusting, and Louis' eyes flew open on a gasp.

"Oh, fuck," he breathed. "Harder, c'mon."

Harry obliged.

He had no more control over his hips, pumping his cock deeper into Louis' arse and reaching a hand down to jerk Louis’ cock in a firm, tight grip.

Louis moaned, then grabbed at Harry’s hand, pulling it off his cock.

“Wha—”

“Don’t need. Gonna come without,” Louis slurred, "do it at the end."

Heat seared through his body and he went wild, gripping Louis' slim waist, tight, he snapped his hips relentlessly, plunging deep into Louis each time and sending him skirting up the bed. He gave a growl and pulled Louis back down on his cock each time, desperate not to let him get too far away.

He leaned down and connected their lips in scorching kiss, his arms bracketing Louis' head as he loomed over Louis in a cocoon, surrounding his lithe body while he pumped his hips.

Louis broke the kiss, little 'uh, uh, uhs' falling from his pink mouth. Harry sucked on a lip, his hips moving in earnest now as he felt the telltale pull in him abdomen. His mouth fell open as pleasure rocketed through him and he buried himself in Louis, his cock twitching with release.

He stilled as he pulsed into the condom, Louis' arse clenching down on him rhythmically and squeezing out the last bit of his orgasm. He bore his weight on one hand and gripped Louis' cock with his other, giving him firm, fast strokes.

"Keep going," Louis panted, rolling his hips encouragingly.

Harry gasped, his cock oversensitive, but he withdrew and pumped back in weakly, Louis' hands pushed hard into his back and Harry twitched as he thrusted harder.

"Oh." Louis' shuddered with his orgasm a second later, cock pulsing with stream after stream that landed in between them on their bellies. Harry stroked him through his orgasm, pulling himself gently from Louis, gripping the base of his cock and rolling the condom off carefully.

His heart beat finally slowed down in his chest as he cleaned them both up, wiping down Louis, who twitched at the manhandling and weakly batted his hands away.

Harry wrapped himself around Louis, his arms around Louis' neck, and a leg slipping in between.

“You’re…solid,” Harry concluded, rolling onto his back and pulling Louis with him.

“Solid?” Louis asked, his eyebrows pinching as he rose to hover over Harry, fringe falling into Harry's face.

“Yeah,” Harry breathed. “Like you’re reliable, dependable, and strong. So strong. What you do for the chimps,” Harry shook his head, “is so amazing. You fight for them, and for the people closest to you. Dunno, solid just comes to mind.” He emphasized the word with a squeeze to Louis’ hips.

“Solid,” Louis repeated, his lips turning upwards in a tentative smile. “I like it,” he commented, then leaned down and connected their lips in a sweet kiss.

"I'm so glad you're here," Louis whispered when they broke apart.

"Me too."

Harry wrung his hands nervously. Louis had been gone for a few hours now and was due back any minute now with his mother and sisters in tow.

Fizzy, Daisy and Phoebe. Fizzy, Daisy, Phoebe. Fizz—

A screech startled him out of his panicked state and he glanced up from his spot on the bench to see the group of chimps emerging from the trees across the field. Izzy and a few of the other caretakers were in the lead and he waved enthusiastically at them.

Louis had woken him up by peppering kisses down his spine, his scratchy scruff leaving red marks along his shoulders. A sleepy kissper of, "Go over to Tchindzoulou while I go pick them up at the airport," into his ear, and Louis had gone.

Now, Harry was anxiously waiting for Louis and company. He guessed that Tchindzoulou was the better option for the girls to see the chimps as they were better suited to hang around multiple humans without freaking out.

He pulled the phone from his pocket for the twentieth time, swiping to unlock and tap into the photo folder. He brought up the pictures of Daisy and Phoebe, flipping back and forth between them to distinguish them. Damn. They looked so alike. A little bit like their brother, but mostly their mum was reflected in their faces.

A chimp pawed at his knee and he pocketed the phone again, extending his arms to allow the little one to climb up.

Izzy sat down on the bench beside him, her own arms full of a chimp that nuzzled into the chimp sitting on Harry's lap.

"These two did nothing but wrestle the whole time on our trip around the island. And now look at 'em." Izzy shook her head fondly.

Harry's lips quirked. "Yeah, guess they can let go of things easily, huh? Humans should be more like them."

Izzy hummed her agreement, her hands rubbing up and down the chimp's arms. She was seemingly unaware of her own actions, just instinct now as her gaze settled on some of the other caretakers pulling out food bins.

They stood up to help when the chimps got rowdy, crowding in around the other caretakers and the food.

Harry laughed at some of the disgruntled looks on their faces. He lugged one of the bins away from the main crowd, a group of ten or so chimps following him eagerly.

He got thoroughly distracted that he missed Louis and the trail of women exiting the building. He wasn't sure whether or not he should approach, and practically emptied the barrel by the time he looked back up. Louis was coaxing what looked to be Jay and Fizzy into holding a chimp in their arms.

He startled when a chimpanzee suddenly leapt up onto his back. He tilted his head to greet the primate, “Well hello there, what can I do for you?”

The chimpanzee was small and was using Harry’s shoulder as a lookout tower, making low grunting noises and raising his arm up to point at something.

One of Louis’ sisters, Daisy, he was ninety-eight percent sure, walked over to him, excitement brewing in her eyes.

“What is he doing?” she asked.

Harry looked at the chimp, which was now carding its fingers through Harry’s curls.

“I’m not entirely sure to be honest. Sometimes I just let them do whatever they want,” he offered, shrugging his shoulder slightly and jostling the chimp.

Daisy giggled and reached a hand out towards the chimp, a piece of juicy fruit between her fingers. She laughed when the chimp ate directly from her fingers, the hair on the chimp's chin brushing her skin in a light tickle.

“I like feeding them,” she said.

Harry nodded. “Me too. They really like mango,” he offered. "So do I for that matter."

"Me too," she said shyly, looking up at Harry with a hesitant smile.

Harry grinned in response. "Is it your favourite fruit, Daisy?" Harry asked.

"I'm not Daisy, I'm Phoebe," she answered.

Harry reeled back, horrified that he'd got it wrong. "I'm so sorry Phoeb—"

A sudden nudge to the girl's shoulders from Louis made her whip around with a startled expression on her face. "Knock it off, Daisy."

She looked at Harry sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm just teasing Harry. Lotts told us to do it. You are Harry right? Louis' boyfriend? Lotts said you had wild hair and wore bright shirts." She squinted in accusation at him.

Harry put his hands on his hips and pouted. "Well that wasn't very nice of her. But yes, I'm Harry."

He'd met Louis' eldest sister for the first time over Skype a couple of weeks ago. They've had a few conversations since, mostly him asking her about Jay because all Louis kept saying was 'she'll like you, don't worry.' He wasn't all that surprised that Lottie had told them to mess with him because she found it hysterical that he was so nervous.

"Sorry!" Daisy giggled and walked back over to her sister, the chimp that had been perched on Harry's shoulder leapt down and took up her hand, ambling along behind her.

Louis huffed. "Lottie. Figures." He looked at Harry. "Hello." He leaned in, pressing a quick kiss onto Harry's lips and nudging his knuckles into Harry's abdomen.

Harry sucked in reflexively, his eyes darting towards Louis' mum who was still thankfully distracted. He yelped when a hand suddenly pawed at his crotch and he batted it away.

“Can you not?” Harry hissed, swatting Louis’ hand away when it reached out towards his groin again. “Your mother is five feet away. Do. Not.” He levelled Louis with what he hoped was a sharp glare.

Louis, seemingly unbothered, just smirked slowly as his eyes twinkled mischievously.

Harry nervously glanced to where his family was standing. They were so close, but of course Louis considered now a good time to be flirtatious. Which was typical of him, because he was the complete opposite of Harry, radiating calm and being a cheeky shit, while lead was currently in the pit of Harry’s stomach at the thought of meeting Jay any second now.

Louis just raised his arm up in an attempt to swipe at him again, but Harry dodged it and went to grab the other wrist. Louis simply sidestepped out of the way and yanked his wrist free, darting away from Harry with a laugh. An extra sway graced his hips as he craned his head with a backwards glance, his eye squinting against the glare of the sun.

"C'mon!" Louis shouted.

Harry grumbled and readjusted himself before taking a deep breath and following, his heart beginning to pound in anticipation.

Jay and Fizzy turned around just as he approached, their curious glances smoothing into what looked like recognition as he stopped in front of them and said, "Hi, I'm Harry." He held out a hand to Jay. "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Tomlinson-Deakin. Félicité." He nodded at the teenager.

"Well that's quite a mouthful, Jay will do," she answered, clasping his hand in a warm grip and squeezing slightly. Her long chestnut hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail that fell over her shoulder, sticking to the cotton of her dress. She had a friendly smile that lit up her face.

"'M Fizzy. I don't think anyone's called me Félicité in _ages_." She shook Harry's hand the way a teenager would, quickly and awkwardly before turning back around to the chimps.

Harry laughed and turned towards Jay. "Was the flight okay?"

Jay adjusted the floppy summer hat on her head and nodded. "Long, but worth it." She reached out and carded a hand through Louis' fringe.

 

"Mum," Louis groaned.

Jay just laughed and pulled Louis in for a tight hug. "Oh I've missed my boy." She cooed into his neck. Louis rubbed her back, eye rolling towards Harry over her shoulder.

Harry smiled. Seeing the closeness between Louis and his mum made his heart clench at the thought of his own mum’s sadness when he had told her he was moving. He resolved to Skype with her at point over the weekend.

A squeal from one of the girls pulled their attention to the sight of Fizzy fallen over to the ground, a chimp wrapped around her legs and screeching excitedly.

Louis laughed and sauntered over, tickling the chimp in the ribs in an effort to get them to release his sister.

Harry and Jay watched in silence as the chimp suddenly turned on Louis and attacked his legs instead, causing him to fall to the ground in laughter. Fizzy was lying beside him, her ponytail fallen out and laughing delightedly at her brother.

Harry smiled at the sight, then murmured, “He’s good with kids too, isn’t he?”

Jay just laughed. “Yes, of course he is. He was a right terror to be honest as a boy, but anything to do with his sisters, he was immediately the poster child for good behaviour.”

Harry smiled at the thought of little Louis playing with his sisters. He could envision him helping them with their chores and homework, patiently teaching them their maths or sentence structure for English.

“He loves them a lot,” Jay added. “Almost as much as his loves those chimps of his.” She sighed.

Harry turned to look at her, noticing that she was already looking at him.

He stuttered, “He loves you guys _very_ much—”

Jay placed a hand on his arm and squeezed briefly. “I know love. I simply meant that these creatures mean everything to him. He takes it very hard when things go wrong and he finds out they’ve been treated horribly.”

Harry swallowed thickly, thinking of Chris and Mozie. Fuck, but how close had Chris been to getting away with it, _again,_ and Jay didn’t even know who Chris had actually been to Louis. If she knew the truth, she’d be furious. Harry supposed it was better this way, that she didn’t know.

He glanced at her, hopefully concealing the truth in his eyes, but it was as if she read his mind, because, "I know about Chris," she murmured quietly.

Harry tried not to flinch, his eyes widened slightly and he went to speak, opening but then closing his mouth. He didn’t know what to say.

Jay tilted her head. "Or rather, I know that they were together. I know my son, and I know that he was more upset about the betrayal than anything else."

Harry shifted his gaze to look at her. She was watching her children with a small frown on her face.

She turned to Harry. "Sorry," she offered, "Louis told me you were nervous, and I put it together about why you'd be nervous. He was very sad and withdrawn when everything happened with Chris. More so I think about the betrayal and the chimps that died. He thinks it's his fault." She gave him a sad smile. "It took him a while to forgive himself and to open up. But," she paused, then added, "he was almost even sadder after you left."

Harry did flinch this time. Noticeably, for Jay turned to face him completely, grabbing both of his hands in her own. "I didn't mean it like that. I know you were here on assignment. I just wanted to reassure you because he seems happy now and it just shows to me that you're the real deal, and I look forward to getting to know you."

Harry smiled at her and whispered, "Thank you."

A cacophony of shouts drew their attention to the door to see the boys stumble through. Niall immediately perked up and shouted, “Jay!” running over to her and picking her up to swing her around in a hug.

Jay laughed. "Hello boys."

She hugged each boy individually in long, squeezing hugs that made Harry only a little jealous.

Harry nudged Zayn, who had a pair of sunglasses on and a sullen expression.

He leaned in close to his ear and said loudly, "Rough night?"

Zayn lurched away, smacking a hand to his ear and then wincing at his own action.

Harry laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "What did you do?"

"Shots," Zayn mumbled.

Liam ambled over behind Zayn and placed his hands on his shoulders, rubbing and squeezing tenderly. He pressed a kiss into his temple. While Niall said, "The fucker decided to challenge some of the locals when they suggested that he couldn't try their famous alcohol."

"Language, Niall!" Jay scolded with a scowl.

Niall flinched and said sheepishly, "Sorry Jay."

"Famous alcohol?" Harry asked.

"Tastes like piss anyways," Zayn said grumpily, crossing his arms and leaning in towards Liam.

Liam curled an arm protectively around Zayn’s shoulders and laughed, "I thought it tasted fine!” He jostled Zayn by squeezing tightly and smacking a kiss into his temple.

Zayn shoved an elbow into his stomach, eliciting a grunt and tried to push him backwards. Liam held on to Zayn’s shoulders and brought up his other hand which held a water bottle.

"Here." Liam gestured with his head as he nudged the bottle into Zayn’s hand.

Zayn took it with a grateful smile and tipped his head back, his throat bobbing at the force of his guzzling.

"It _was_ really strong," Niall offered consolingly.

Zayn sputtered into his water, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose. "You beat some of the locals with the number of shots you had!"

Harry shook his head, tuning out the bickering men and finding Louis.

Louis gave him a smile, pushing his slightly sweaty fringe aside as Harry slung his arms across his shoulders, and Louis wrapped an arm underneath, around his waist.

"Are you happy?" Harry asked.

Louis hummed, pondering the question seriously. "I think so...I mean. I have my family here, these chimps are safe, there's been no news of Chris or his gang..." Louis drew out the twang of the 'g'.

Harry harrumphed and squeezed Louis' shoulder closer into him.

Louis laughed and pulled away, turning around to push up in front of him. He gripped a hand and pulled it up to kiss his knuckles. "I have a smoking hot boyfriend who writes for _National Geographic_ and wants to save the world with me."

Harry barked a laugh. "Close, but not quite, let's start with Africa."

Louis' features softened. "Yeah babe, I'm happy. You make me happy."

And to Harry, that was all that mattered.


End file.
